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Waterfront
One of the most extensive urban-renewal projects in South America, the waterfront is a gated, policed public space stretching 2.5km along the wide Rió Guayas with ponds, playgrounds, gardens, open-air restaurants, museums, a performance space, an IMAX movie theater and a shopping g
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La Merced
This 18th-century church boasts the highest tower in colonial Quito and a wealth of fascinating art, including paintings that show volcanoes erupting over the church roofs of colonial Quito and the capital covered with ashes. Legend says that the tower, the only unblessed part of t
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Templo del Sol
Near the Mirador de Ventanillas, you’ll pass the castle-like Templo del Sol, a re-creation of an Incan temple, complete with pre-Columbian relics and stone carvings. The guided tour (in Spanish) is a bit gimmicky, led by a heavily decorated ‘Incan prince’ who touches on presumed an
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Palacio de Gobierno
The white building on the plaza’s northwest side with the national flag flying atop is the Palacio de Gobierno, the seat of the Ecuadorian presidency. When in residence, its closed to visitors. At other times, sightseeing is allowed but limited to a couple of staterooms, possibly,
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Cascada Nambillo
Especially popular with local families on the weekends, this series of cascades is the easiest to access in the area. However, it still entails either a trip on the tarabita or a fairly steep path that begins another 2km or so past it (water and snacks are sold out of the bamboo sh
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Thursday Morning Market
The Thursday morning market is one of the best in the central highlands. It’s a mostly authentic market and a fascinating place to observe the array of material goods that constitute life in the highlands. The market is composed of eight plazas, which are like a bustling outdoor d
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Cerro Santa Ana
One of Guayaquils most iconic sights is this hillside enclave, which is dotted with brightly painted homes, cafes, bars and souvenir shops. Follow the winding path up the 444 steps to reach the hilltop Fortín del Cerro . Cannons, which were once used to protect Guayaquil from pirat
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Capilla del Hombre
A few blocks away from the Museo Guayasamín stands one of the most important works of art in South America, Guayasamín’s Capilla del Hombre . The fruit of Guayasamín’s greatest vision, this giant monument-cum-museum is a tribute to humankind, to the suffering of Latin America’s ind
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Parque Nacional Llanganates
They say there’s lost Inca treasure buried somewhere in the remote and inaccessible wilderness of the 2197-sq-km Parque Nacional Llanganates. The park encompasses broad swaths of páramo, cloud forest, tropical forest and high 4000m peaks, and is home to tapir, puma, jaguar, capybar
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Cuevas de Jumandí
About 4km north of Archidona, you’ll find Cuevas de Jumandí . This cave system, the best known in the area, has three main branches that remain partly unexplored. Forgo the sketchy waterslides that dump into a river-water pool, and tread slowly (with a flashlight) to see stalactite
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Las Grietas
For nice swimming and snorkeling, head to this water-filled crevice in the rocks. Talented and fearless locals climb the nearly vertical walls to plunge into the water below. Take a water taxi (per person US$0.60 from 6am to 7pm) to the dock for the Angermeyer Point restaurant, the
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Monastery of Santa Catalina
Due south of San Agustín stands this fully functioning convent and monastery, founded in 1592. To this day, entering nuns (who remain cloistered for five years) have only one hour each day to talk to each other or watch TV. But they make all sorts of natural products (shampoos, win
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Lava Tunnels
These impressive underground tunnels southeast of the village of Santa Rosa are more than 1km in length and were formed when the outside skin of a molten-lava flow solidified. When the lava flow ceased, the molten lava inside the flow kept going, emptying out of the solidified skin
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Refugio de Vida Silvestre Pasochoa
This small but beautiful wildlife reserve stands on the northern flanks of the extinct Pasochoa volcano, at elevations between 2900m and 4200m. It has one of the central valley’s last remaining stands of humid Andean forest, with more than 100 species of birds. The luxuriant forest
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Malecón El Salado
The Malecón El Salado is an attractive waterfront renewal project thats popular with area residents. There are several eateries and cafes in a streamlined modern building along the estuary. Locals with kids in tow head to Malecón El Salado on weekend nights to see the ‘dancing foun
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Museo de Arte Moderna & Instrumentos Musicales
In the same building (but with a different entrance) as the Museo Nacional, this haphazardly organized and cavernous space includes a curious collection of musical instruments from Ecuador, South America and beyond. Other rooms contain poorly displayed canvases by some of Ecuador’s
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Cascadas de Peguche
Most visitors, however, head out this way to see Cascadas de Peguche, a series of falls sacred to locals – visitors should stay away during Inti Raymi, June’s festival of the sun, when men conduct ritual cleansing baths. Its a developed site and the cobblestone street marking the e
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Tarabita
This unique hand-powered cable car takes you soaring across a lush river basin over thick cloud forest to the Bosque Protector Mindo-Nambillo, where you can hike to a number of waterfalls. Certainly not for the acrophobic, the wire basket on steel cables glides 152m above the groun
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Basílica del Voto Nacional
High on a hill in the northeastern part of the Old Town looms this massive Gothic church, built over several decades beginning in 1926. Rather than gargoyles, however, turtles and iguanas protrude from the church’s side. The highlight is the basilica’s towers , which you can climb
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La Cima de la Libertad
Up the flanks of Volcán Pichincha, this monument offers one of the finest views of the city. It was built at the site of the Batalla de Pichincha (Battle of Pichincha), which was which generaled by Mariscal Antonio José de Sucre. The May 24, 1822, battle was decisive in the struggl
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